MSNBC to Produce Obama, Romney Documentaries

MSNBC is producing two new documentaries on the two major party candidates for president. Chuck Todd hosts “Mitt Romney: The Making of a Candidate,” and Chris Matthews hosts “Barack Obama: Making History,”

The Romney special features an exclusive with the candidate which was conducted yesterday. It also looks at Romney’s rise as a successful businessman; the role of the Mormon faith in his life; and his relationships with his family and staff.

The Obama doc features interviews with Vice President Joe Biden, Obama Campaign Advisor David Axelrod and Caroline Kennedy. The special examines Pres. Obama’s rise to the highest office in the land and highlights his first term accomplishments.

“Mitt Romney: The Making of a Candidate” airs on MSNBC two weeks from tonight at 10pmET. “Barack Obama: Making History” airs Monday, September 3 at 10pmET.

More details in the press release after the jump…

MSNBC’s Long Form unit will premiere two new documentary specials chronicling the lives and political careers of Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama in advance of the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. “Mitt Romney: The Making of a Candidate,” hosted by NBC News Chief White House Correspondent and Political Director Chuck Todd, will air on MSNBC on Friday, August 24 at 10 PM ET. “Barack Obama: Making History,” produced by Peacock Productions and hosted by Chris Matthews, will air on Monday, September 3 at 10 PM ET.

“Mitt Romney: The Making of a Candidate,” produced by MSNBC’s Long Form team, follows the former Massachusetts governor through the trials and tribulations of a prolonged 2012 Presidential primary season as he eventually emerges as the soon-to-be Republican nominee for President of the United States. The one-hour special features an exclusive one-on-one interview with the candidate while on the campaign trail, conducted by “Daily Rundown” host and veteran campaign reporter Chuck Todd. The documentary examines Romney’s coming of age; the role of the Mormon religion in his life; his rise as a successful businessman and politician as well as his relationships with his family and staff. Key people interviewed for the hour were drawn from all phases of Romney’s life – a high school classmate, Sidney Barthwell; a close campaign advisor from his 1994 run against Ted Kennedy, Rick Reed; a Bain partner, Geoffrey Rehnert; Governors Tom Kean (R-NJ) and Bill Weld (R-Mass.) and Romney advisors Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) and Dan Senor.

“Barack Obama: Making History,” produced by Peacock Productions and hosted by Chris Matthews, features high-profile interviews that are a signature of Matthews’ smart reporting. The one-hour documentary places President Obama’s election and presidency into a thoughtful historical perspective, examining his rise to the highest office in the land and highlighting what President Obama has accomplished during his first term and what he has yet to accomplish going forward. “Hardball” host Chris Matthews interviewed key players in the Obama story including Vice President Joe Biden, Obama Campaign Advisor David Axelrod and Caroline Kennedy, among others.

Both films were produced for MSNBC’s Long Form unit. Michael Rubin is Vice President and Scott Hooker is the unit’s Sr. Executive Producer. Tim Smith was the Senior Producer on both hours for MSNBC. Keith McKay was Peacock’s Executive Producer for the Obama hour and Kate Hampson was Producer. Jennifer Sherwood was Booking Producer. Tina Urbanski was Coordinating Producer. Rebecca Teitel was Associate Producer. MSNBC’s associate producers for both hours were Elizabeth Freedman, Jana Lerner and Azriel Relph.

MSNBC’s award-winning documentary unit combines compelling storytelling with exclusive access to some of the most intriguing and rarely seen places and people in the world, allowing viewers to become eyewitnesses. Building on the world-class newsgathering and talent of MSNBC and NBC News, the MSNBC documentary unit takes audiences undercover to investigate in-depth some of the most important stories of our time. Drawing on partnerships with accomplished producers and acclaimed filmmakers, MSNBC presents powerful documentaries and also showcases unique features under the MSNBC Films umbrella.

Peacock Productions is an award-winning, nonfiction production company that combines the editorial expertise, technical resources and seasoned production talent of NBCUniversal. It offers a wide-range of programming to broadcast, cable and digital entities with worldwide reach. peacockproductions.tv.

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